


First move

by EmyLilas



Category: Goliath (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, this ship deserved better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26695837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmyLilas/pseuds/EmyLilas
Summary: Callie and Michelle have been friends for decades now. But their friendship has been turning into something new, lately, something which none of them have yet be ready to talk about. It remains unspoken between them, until they can't keep ignoring it.
Relationships: Callie Senate/Michelle McBride
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	First move

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first short fic for the Goliath fandom (which clearly lacks fics!). This is supposed to happen before the show starts. I loved the dynamic between Callie and Michelle and I would have loved it see more of them... it felt a bit like a waste, how the writers dealt with them so, I figured I write it myself. Of course, I don't own anything apart that specific story!
> 
> English isn't my first language, I'm trying my best but it's highly possible there are still some mistakes out there, so sorry about that!

“Here, let me” Callie whispers, slipping behind Michelle. She isn’t a fool and she knows the office isn’t the most intimate place to be (even though it could apply to the whole building, Callie thinks, considering Cooperman’s eyes on everyone’s every single movement) and she does not know what her friend’s reaction may be if she turned  _ this _ into an intimate moment. That’s why she does not press her body against Michelle’s back, no matter how much she would want so. 

Taking the necklace from Michelle’s hand, she tries not to think of the softness of her warm fingers against hers, freezing ㅡ her body always has this paradoxical reaction whenever she would come near Michelle: feeling like it is burning while her skin is actually cold as ice. 

When she leans in, a bit closer, to circle Michelle’s neck with the string, Callie can’t keep her thought in her mind and confesses it outloud: “you smell good”. Michelle smiles at the compliment: it’s not that often she gets to see that side of Callie and if she’s being fully honest, she wouldn’t mind seeing more of it. 

Callie sticks her tongue out as she focuses on the necklace clasp, careful not to pull Michelle’s hair. She looks up when she hears Michelle’s little giggle: the blonde has been staring at her in the mirror of her office. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as deeply focused…” she murmurs, happily teasing her old friend. 

Callie rolls her eyes, more amused than annoyed: “shut up…” She stops staring back at Michelle in the reflection and goes back to focus on the necklace. It could have been done by now, she’s only denying it because she does not want to admit why she wants this moment to last. 

“This necklace really is giving you a hard time…” Michelle murmurs, teasing her again. Because Michelle knows it usually doesn’t take that long for Callie to handle a clasp. And in a way, she knows what Callie refuses to admit. But the tease is light, she gives Callie a choice: either she acts on it and their relationship can take a new turn or she ignores it and they stay as they have always been. Friends. 

And Callie doesn’t answer. She knows Michelle is teasing her. What she does not know, yet, is that Michelle wants  _ her  _ to make a move. Because in Michelle’s head, Callie is the one supposed to make the first move. It is all planned in her mind: Callie would be the one kissing her first, probably pinning her against the nearest wall with no delicacy after a long exhausting day. Callie is the one supposed to make the first move. 

Because that’s just who Callie is, and Callie is everything Michelle isn’t: outside the courtroom, Michelle is shy and careful, outside the courtroom, Michelle plays it safe, because she knows she can’t handle being hurt again, not yet. It has taken her months to understand what was happening. It has taken her months of thinking and a conversation with a coworker asking how long it has been since Callie and her started dating, to understand Callie’s feelings were probably not only friendly. 

Michelle sighs. When she feels Callie’s fingers leaving her neck, she tilts her head back, allowing it to rest on Callie’s shoulder. She can feel Callie tensing, the moment she presses her body against hers. She gives them a minute before stepping away if her friend hasn’t relaxed. And Callie does not relax. Yet, when Michelle starts stepping forward to restore distance between them, Callie wraps her arms around her waist, holding her close.

Michelle closes her eyes, leaning on the embrace. She is fully aware of the glazed office where they are finally allowing themselves to share some tenderness. And she doesn’t have to check, to know people wandering the hallways are probably glancing at them. But she couldn’t care less, feeling herself being caught in a moment out of time, in a moment she has only dreamed of ㅡ yet, she cringes when the thought that Donald Cooperman may be watching them from his office crosses her mind. But it doesn’t stay there long, sending away by the new awareness of Callie’s breath against her neck. A warm, heavy breathing, both making her feel safe and sending shivers down her spine.

Callie’s eyes haven’t left Michelle’s face for a second, staring at her through the mirror. She wouldn’t have wanted to miss the wave of serenity spreading on her friend’s features. Michelle has never looked as peaceful as trapped in the embrace. One hand sticks to her side, holding her with a tender grip, the other falls on Michelle’s right hip, her fingertips drawing patterns on her skirt. She can feel the heat of her skin through the tight fabric.

The hand resting on Michelle’s waist is soon covered by her own hand. The contrast is striking between Michelle’s warm palm and Callie’s cold back of hand. The blonde’s lips curl into a small smile, barely visible behind her peaceful expression: the two of them really are the perfect opposite. Michelle is discreet, Callie loves being the center of attention; Michelle is kind and easy-going, Callie is mean and she takes pride in the distance surrounding her; Michelle tries to be a decent human being, Callie wants to win, doing whatever it takes. But they both feel overwhelmed by their new found proximity. Except it shows through warmth for Michelle, and through coldness for Callie. If the moment hasn’t been as precious, Michelle would have laughed about how their different reactions match their different personalities so well.

But Callie’s hand does not get warmer under Michelle’s palm. She knows it’s a reaction caused by anxiety and deep stress. And as much as she would want this moment to be free of those negative emotions, she can’t stop herself from overthinking the whole situation. After all, it could just be a shared soft moment with a friend. But Callie knows something different is happening today. They are sharing their most intimate feelings, even though no words are spoken. By holding Michelle between her arms, Callie tells her she has been thinking about it, the possibility of a  _ they _ , and more than that, she confesses she wants it. By staying between her arms, and leaning in the embrace, Michelle answers she wants it too, that after decades of friendship, she is finally willing to give it a chance. 

But no words are spoken. And it terrifies Callie. Because what could prevent her from just imagining all those things? And it takes a lot, to terrify Callie Senate. She thought so, at least. And so did everyone who met her. But after all, it seems it only takes Michelle McBride to scare her: it only takes to have feelings for Michelle McBride, to unsettle Callie Senate. 

“Are we sure about this?” Callie whispers in Michelle’s ear, her lips hovering over the skin of her neck. The soft moan escaping her friend’s throat might be good enough for an answer, it is, at least, enough to bring a smirk on Callie’s lips. Michelle’s free hand quickly pats Callie’s hand on her hip: she can feel her smirk against her skin, and she won’t let Callie have the upper hand that easily. 

She intertwines their fingers together, enjoying the last seconds of a moment that can’t last forever, no matter how much they both want it. And softly, Michelle brings their hands to her lips. Her eyes shut closed again, as she inhales the scent of Callie’s skin and drops a kiss.

When Callie takes Michelle’s earlobe between her lips, there is no remnant of her previous uncertainty: she knows she wants Michelle, and she isn’t scared to fight for the woman she desires. But when she starts nibbling Michelle’s lobe, the blonde lets out a deep laugh, pushing her away with a swipe of her hips. 

“I’ll see you tonight”, Michelle tells her with a smug smirk lightening her face. The mischief glint sparkling in her brown eyes makes it clear for Callie there’s going to be a rough fight for that upper hand. And when Michelle walks through the door of her own office, leaving Callie alone, it’s with the idea she’s the one in charge and that, after all, Callie wasn't supposed to be the one asking her out. And maybe, she still is in charge, for now. But Callie knows it won’t last. And to be sure it won’t, she needs to plan the whole evening: to make sure she shows Michelle just how much she has been wanting her, those past months ㅡor, if she was being completely honest, she would admit she has been wanting her for the last few years. 

Falling backward on Michelle’s chair, Callie closes her eyes. Without even thinking about it, her thumb starts brushing the back of her hand, tracing with her fingertip the skin that has been kissed by Michelle before she left. A shiver runs down her spine at the thought of the kisses  _ she  _ will be leaving on her friend’s body when night comes. 

“Friend…” she whispers to herself in the silence of the room. And Callie’s smile widens at the realization a new word is now fitting Michelle McBride, a word she would only have dreamt of calling her: her lover. 

**Author's Note:**

> I do hope you liked it! Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of it, it's always really nice to know. And if you just want to talk about the show, do not hesitate either!   
> See you soon for something new!


End file.
